Gyeonggi Bus Labor and Management Reach Dramatic Deal... Normal Service Today

Labor and management at Gyeonggi Province bus companies reached a wage and collective agreement early on the 30th, averting a commuting-hour transportation crisis in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Yonhap News Agency

The Gyeonggi Regional Automobile Workers' Union, an affiliate of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' National Federation of Automobile Workers' Unions, and the employers' side held a final mediation meeting at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, and reached an agreement on a mediation proposal at around 2:32 a.m. that day. The agreement calls for a 3.2% hourly wage increase this year for routes under both the public management system and the privately operated system. The retroactive portion of the wage increase will be paid by the end of February next year.

Some measures to improve working conditions were also included. The two sides agreed to provide two consecutive days off each week on fixed days. They also agreed to provide flu vaccinations to all union members and introduce a program granting three days of paid reward leave each year to employees with no traffic accidents.

As a result, 4,130 city and intercity buses operated by 29 companies in Gyeonggi Province, including in Suwon, Yongin, Goyang and Seongnam, across 854 routes began operating normally from the first departures that day.

However, the two sides agreed to continue discussions later on the key issue of equal pay with Seoul bus workers. The union had called for increases of 21.56% for routes under the public management system and 30% for privately operated routes, taking into account the implementation of equal pay with Seoul bus workers and the impact of a lawsuit over ordinary wages filed by Seoul bus workers.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae said in a written briefing by her spokesperson, "I thank both labor and management for making the decision to reach an agreement without a strike in order to protect residents' daily lives and ensure safe commutes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.